Koshi Barrage
Also known as: कोशी ब्यारेज · Kosi Barrage · Bhardaha · Hanumannagar
Every traveller crossing Nepal by road meets the Koshi here. The East–West Highway runs along the top of the barrage, and for a minute or two the view opens onto a river so wide it looks like a sea of sand and water.
A river of seven rivers
The Saptakoshi — 'seven Koshis' — gathers the Sun Koshi, Tamor, Arun and other rivers draining eastern Nepal, including the snows of Everest and Kanchenjunga. Few rivers in the Himalaya carry as much water and silt.
Why a barrage?
Before engineering, the Koshi wandered across the plains of Bihar, shifting its course by tens of kilometres over centuries and flooding vast areas. Under the Koshi Agreement of 1954, India built this barrage and embankments to hold the river and feed irrigation canals. The agreement remains a sensitive topic in Nepal, and the river still breaks out — as in 2008 at Kusaha.
What to look for
Stop at Bhardaha for tea, watch the fishing boats in the pools below the gates, and look for waterbirds; Gangetic dolphins have been reported in the river nearby. The Koshi Tappu reserve lies just upstream, and the old district town of Hanumannagar is close by.